| |
The largest number of symposium speakers traveled from Miami
and New York, the two metropolitan areas with the largest concentrations
of Haitians. Other speakers, however, traveled from Atlanta, Boston,
Delray Beach and Detroit. Still others left homes in suburban Maryland
to participate.
The stories told at the symposium by speakers from these cities
with smaller Haitian-American populations opened the eyes of many
who attended the event. This included the staff of the Trinity College
Haiti Program, who decided to learn more by visiting them. Our travels
took us to:
• Atlanta, a growing
metropolitan area attracting increasing numbers of Haitians;
• Boston, a major US
metropolis where Haitian community leaders have developed a solid
presence;
• Delray Beach, Florida,
where Haitians who set forth from Miami, now joined by others, strive
to exert their presence; and,
• Detroit, where a small, established
community has made a mark and maintains its identity.
Our travels also have taken us to our own back yard, the Washington,
DC metropolitan area, where we explored the evolution of
a diverse, dynamic and growing Haitian-American community in and
around the nation’s capital.
We hope that our ‘snapshots’ will help bring
to light the fact that Haitian-Americans are present in cities
and towns throughout the United States |
Thanks to the gracious reception afforded us by members of these
communities, we have developed an overview of each of them. We hope
that our ‘snapshots’ will help bring to light the fact
that Haitian-Americans are present in cities and towns throughout
the United States, where they are engaged in building and maintaining
communities and are making their mark in the place they now call
home.
Haitian immigrants and their families are located in many communities
other than those mentioned above. In 1997, Haitians-Americans for
Economic Development (HAFED) used 1990 census data to indicate that
Haitians and Haitian-Americans reside in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia. CLICK HERE to
view a chart of HAFED's findings. Beyond a doubt, those
numbers have expanded considerably since 1990. Census data from
2000 in Florida alone, for example, indicates a 117 percent increase
of the Haitian population in that state. And, the largest percentage
growth of the Florida population was not in Miami-Dade County, but
rather in Broward County, with Palm Beach a close second!
As the population of Haitians in the US grows, new organizations
and leaders have begun to emerge, engaged in local, state, and national
issues and, of course, issues related to Haiti. One example is the
National Organization for the Advancement of Haitians – NOAH.
"THE
HAITIAN DIASPORA"
a presentation by NOAH
This section of our site presents various snapshots of that population,
their communities, their leaders, and their issues. We are just
scratching the surface – beneath it is a breadth and depth
of talented and hard working people making their individual contributions
to the well being of their adopted homeland. We welcome you to explore.
Click
here to view the Symposium Agenda.
|
|
